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Paulownia is used in surfcraft primarily because it is super low density, but still reasonably hard (durable). It's both lighter and harder than cedar... even white cedar. It also won't crack or warp when kiln dried, which is nice, because then you can get the stuff really, really dry, really quickly.

Paulownia is reported to have the highest strength to weight ratio of any wood in the world. It is also relatively stable.

Air drying of paulownia is preferable, we have tried kiln drying but the results are not as good as via a few years of air drying.

LBCrew you asked about tail volume earlier. It's important to distinguish between the effects of volume and of area.Lift produced via planing area increases as speed increases, whereas displacement lift from immersed volume does not .

Using displacement based lift allows the response from the tail to remain relatively constant over a wide range of speeds. Conversely wide planing tails require a lot more force to move rail to rail as speed increases ( since lift increases by the square with higher speed).

On the Makaha 12-9 which is seen on this thread, planing lift is reintroduced via a half pipe tunnel fin. Due to the shape of this fin the planing lift does not inhibit rail to rail roll, so we have the best of all worlds, a narrow tail for control with efficient low drag planing lift from the tunnel.

Paulownia and Cedar are the two best woods for building wooden surfboards due to their weight and water resistance. Granted if you are glassing a wooden board a proper glass job should protect the wood from ever touching water. If you are not concerned with weight than use any wood you prefer.

Sapele is a "relatively" soft wood considering it is a hardwood but I would not consider it soft. I build a lot of furniture using sapele and its does not ding easily. I would consider cedar or pine a soft wood considering you can dig your nail into the wood or dent it with a slight bump. The pick up on your guitar could be African Mahogany which is very soft. Due to availability I used African Mahogany instead of Sapele for a kitchen counter since the look is very similar. I dropped a mug on it a couple months ago and it left a slight dent.
(Not that any of this has relevance to this thread)

Yea... I noticed that at very low speed the tail is completely submerged into the wave, particularly as the pocket catches up to you. You can see the board respond by changing planing angle (and maybe flexing through that low pressure area?), as the lever tips around the fulcrum. Increasing both volume and planing area in the tail (buoyancy and the tail's ability to "catch" wave energy) will effect how the board responds in those situations. You're not getting much lift from your fin at those low speeds, so your thick tail is a good way to address that.

There is no possible way for you to charge me. I am not going to even post the questions because I have lost all interest. Don't fix my grammar. You have no interest in making or selling surfboards with your current prices. You seem interested in only bringing attention to yourself. You seem pathetic. Enjoy your Swellinfo.com thread, adios.

There is no possible way for you to charge me. I am not going to even post the questions because I have lost all interest. Don't fix my grammar. You have no interest in making or selling surfboards with your current prices. You seem interested in only bringing attention to yourself. You seem pathetic. Enjoy your Swellinfo.com thread, adios.

And he lacks tact, which is business 101. That is a good reason why his threads always drag on for miles. If here were trained in customer relations, he would refrain from all internet arguments. If someone says something bad about your design, post technical information (design/FEA) proving your point and move along. Instead, he posts long rants with opinions and tosses in a few snide remarks. I think I am going to start a small consulting business offering customer/public relations training to small business owners. It is so easy to defend a product without starting an argument. However, there is no way to defend the price.

Roy, as your 500,000 dollar surfboards sit around waiting for a buyer, let me direct you to a sponsored ad here on the forum. Its called Equipify and, in short, you rent your extra gear out to friendly travelers for a fee. So, someone coming to your neck of the woods could rent one of your Artboards out for say, 5,000 for the day. Throw in the all red wesuit and make it an even 10K.

I could not help but note that, almost overnight, you've become a senior member with over 120 posts to the forum on this one thread. Impressive, Roy.... Very impressive. Looking forward to your thoughts on some of the other things going on here that do not relate to your silly price model which is undefendable, even with your delightful grasp of grammer and puncuation combined with your visceral fear of communism. G'day, mate.

Really? I've been called a douche, a mental patient, a drug user, a liar, a scammer, and just about everything else on this thread, I've been told to f off, shut up,and go away and have responded calmly and logically, yet you criticise my behaviour? Tact does not include rolling over and dying.

That is a good reason why his threads always drag on for miles. If here were trained in customer relations, he would refrain from all internet arguments.

I'm not a corporation I'm an individual, you see what is there rather than some carefully sanitised BS. It's the real deal.

Instead, he posts long rants with opinions and tosses in a few snide remarks.

Cry me a river...I've been restrained and polite, actually... unlike many others here.

I think I am going to start a small consulting business offering customer/public relations training to small business owners.

It is so easy to defend a product without starting an argument.

I'm merely responding to the posts with relevant information, that is not starting an argument and in any case there's nothing wrong with argument it is a vital part of communication where there is disagreement.

However, there is no way to defend the price.

Yes there is,as follows: Since we are not living in a communist state the price is set by the seller, it is not compulsory to buy,ergo there is no problem. ... and I don't fear communism I simply disapprove of it.